Parent & FamilyNewsletter

April 2019

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A Note from the Chairs of the Parent & FamilyCommittee

Here we are on "final approach" for our daughter Lauren as many of you arecontemplating how things might be during your student's first summer homeafter their first year at Clarkson. For families of sophomores or juniors, some ofyour students won't be home due to internships or jobs away from home. Asformer Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said, "There are things we knowthat we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say there are things thatwe now know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns." What iscertain is that all three cases will present.

Summer after the first year will be an adjustment time for families and students.Your student will be different - that is a known-known, by the way.Independence, social interests; these things will be different for most studentsthan last fall. They will still require your support, however, and families ofstudents of all cohorts will continue the adjustment towards adulthood and theevolving relationship with your young adult.

Which brings this back to us and the families of seniors. Next fall there will notbe a "move-in" or even the reduced "move-in" since over the years in college,they seem to desire and require less help. They will be off to their nextadventure, whether it is travel, a job, post-graduate studies, marriage... it's notthe same. This is our second and last child to graduate. There are about to belots of unknown-unknowns in our families. We will have to adjust, too. If youstruggle with adjustment, just Google "resilience skills"; try to adopt them. If it'sstill a challenge, don't be afraid to stick your hand up and ask for help. TheParent and Family Facebook group is a great place to seek support from otherfamilies who have been there before or are feeling the same emotions you are.(Just don't forget to maintain your student's privacy!)

We have really appreciated being a part of the Clarkson Family over these pastfour years. It's a great school with nearly limitless opportunities for students.We've seen really great improvements with the way the University interacts withfamilies as well. The academic leadership team and staff leadership team trulycare about delivering a great product to your student and by default, yourfamily. Embrace the time you have during this chapter and look forward toturning the page.

Thanks to all!

Eric and Linda JohnsClarkson Parent and Family Committee Co-Chairs

Clarkson's Got Talent!

Students wowed their peers at the 8th annual Clarkson's Got Talent on March13th. Winning performances included:

1st place: Sarmad Mehrdad's performance of a Paco de Lucia flamencoguitar piece2nd place: Khadeeja Ferguson and Jordyn Frank's performance of anoriginal spoken word poem3rd place: Maxwell Violet's vocal/guitar performance of Leonard Cohen's"Hallelujah"Presidential award: Nick McDonald's first-ever stand-up comedyperformancePresidential award: Arash Bahrololoomi's drum solo performed on the daf,an Iranian frame drum

Clarkson Transitions to Sodexo for Food Service

The University has completed its request for proposal process with regards tocampus food service. At this time Clarkson is in final negotiations with Sodexo,a leading food service provider. The transition from Aramark to Sodexo willoccur between June 1 and July 1 with uninterrupted food service to the campuscommunity through the remainder of this semester and throughout thetransition. The timing was designed to minimize the impact to our students,faculty and staff. This change marks the end of a nearly two-year process oflistening to the input of students, evaluating our existing food service provider,bench-marking against our peer institutions, and evaluating options.

Although initially the goal will be to provide a smooth and unbroken transitionwith few changes, improvements will be more obvious with time as we work

with the new management team and process the input we received. Studentscan expect to see some of the same staff they have grown to appreciate, alongwith many of the same food choices they prefer. Sodexo will continue to workin collaboration with students and the Assistant Dean of Students forAccommodations and Conduct in order to accommodate dietary restrictions.Moving forward we will be replacing less popular food stations with better andmore diverse cuisines. Finally, we will retain the Subway franchise on campusand add a Starbucks.We look forward to working with the Sodexo team to provide the diningexperience students will enjoy.

Please email Ian Hazen, ihazen@clarkson.edu, with any questions you mayhave.

Fall 2019 Housing Lottery Information

Housing Lottery numbers will be available by March 15 at 8 a.m. Students mustsign their housing contract to view their lottery number in People Soft. Studentsmay access this by logging into their PeopleSoft account and selecting thehousing link located at the bottom left of the main page. They will need tochoose the 2019-2020 academic year.

Rising seniors numbers: 0-999Rising juniors numbers: 1000-1999Rising sophomores numbers: 2000-2999

Clarkson is a four-year residential campus which means students are requiredto live on campus unless granted a housing exemption on a yearly basisthrough the Residence Life Office.

Students with residential accommodations will need to meet with ResidenceLife Staff prior to Housing Lottery in order to meet their accommodationrequirements.

6-7 person apartment night will be on April 4 at 5 pm in the StudentCenter Multipurpose Rooms. Housing for the Pit Plan will also be on April 4 at 5pm in the Student

Center Multipurpose Rooms.Rising senior Housing Lottery night is April 9 starting at 5pm in the CheelBarben Rooms.Rising junior Housing Lottery night is April 16 starting at 5pm in theStudent Center Multipurpose Rooms.Rising sophomore Housing Lottery night is April 18 starting at 5pm in theStudent Center Multipurpose Rooms.

Students entering their 5th year are not required to live on campus but can beissued lottery numbers upon request. Please stop by the Residence Life officefor more information.

Students that cannot attend lottery will be able to complete a proxy form whichwill grant permission for another student to select their housing. The studentselecting housing must have a completed copy of the proxy form (found onKnightLife) with them to select housing for student not attending lottery.

For any students with questions about the housing lottery, please do nothesitate to email reslife@clarkson.edu, stop by the Residence Life Office inPrice Hall, or find one of our information tables in the Student Center over thenext few weeks!

Clarkson University's Payment Plan

Undergraduate students and semester based graduate students may opt toenroll in Clarkson University’s monthly payment plan. The applicant determinesthe amount to be financed, with the maximum amount being total charges lessanticipated financial aid, and the minimum amount being $1,000 per term. ThePayment Plan is available with only a $60 nonrefundable application fee; aslong as the terms and conditions of the payment plan are met, there are nofinance and/or interest charges associated with it.

Application must be received by the following dates:

2019-2020 Academic YearFall 2019 - July 5, 2019Spring 2020 - November 8, 2019

For detailed information and the application, please clickvisit https://www.clarkson.edu/sites/default/files/2019-02/19-20_payment_plan_application.pdf

Questions? Contact Travis Dox, Bursar / Associate Director of UndergraduateServices.

Greek Life

Pictured: Three of Clarkson University's recognized sororities welcoming their newmembers home on bid day.

In January the fraternities and sororities here at Clarkson Universityparticipated in their primary recruitment season, which ended with themwelcoming over 80 new members into their community on January 26th. Sincethen, new members have participated in a six week new member processwhere they learned about their chapter, it's history and the Greek community. New members were initiated into their organizations by March 9th.

If your student missed out on recruitment this semester, they are still able toparticipate in the future! Be on the look out for Greek community widerecruitment events where they can meet each chapter and begin finding theirhome away from home in Greek Life.

Students who are at least a sophomore, have a 2.5 cumulative GPA and are ingood academic standing will be eligible to join a fraternity or sorority in the Fall2019 semester.

If you have questions about Greek Life, recruitment, or the chapter that yourstudent joined, feel free to reach out to Megan Munley, Assistant Director ofStudent Life at mmunley@clarkson.edu.

Clarkson Ride Board

Many students do not bring a car to Clarkson and therefore rely on shared rideswith peers to make it home for visits or during breaks in the academic calendar.

Additionally, many Clarkson students, faculty, and staff are happy to offer ridesto students along their way home during breaks or weekends.

If your student has a ride to offer or would like to ask for a ride, pleaseencourage them to use the new and improved Clarkson Ride Board.

Students can offer or ask for rides via the Ride Board and can includeinformation such as what time of day they are leaving or would like to leave,any gas money requirements or offerings, and any other relevant notes.

The Ride Board requires a Clarkson login which ensures only members ofthe Clarkson Community can view the Ride Board. Students can navigate tothe Ride Board via the link above or by going to the Clarkson intranet andnavigating to "Quick Links"-->"Additional Links"-->"Students."

Join the Parent & Family Facebook Group

Don't forget to join the Clarkson Parent & Family Facebook group! Meet otherparents and families, ask questions, and stay connected!

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